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Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has never been a minister in a federal or state government, has not led his Congress party to a general election victory, and quit as party chief after it was demolished in the last parliamentary polls in 2019.

Yet he remains at the centre of India's opposition politics and the main target of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu- nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Now, his conviction and two-year jail sentence in a defamation case, and consequent dismissal from parliament on Friday, could galvanize his party and its allies to step up their opposition to the BJP government a year before the next general election is due.

The conviction on Thursday came barely two months after Gandhi, 52, concluded a 4,000-km cross-country march from India's southern tip to Kashmir in the Himalayas in a bid to revive his party and refurbish his image in what he called a Bharat Jodo Yatra, or unify India march.

Gandhi's jail sentence has been suspended for 30 days allowing him to appeal to a higher court but he will also not be able to contest the next general election unless he gets his conviction suspended or overturned.

At the heart of his central role in opposition politics is the fact that his party has ruled India for 54 of its 75 years since independence from Britain, and his father, grandmother and great-grandfather were prime ministers for more than 37 of those 54 years.

Congress was the largest national political party with a footprint across the country of 1.4 billion people until it was overtaken by the BJP in 2014.

Although now a shadow of its former self, the Gandhi family - which includes Rahul's Italian-born mother and former party chief Sonia, and his sister Priyanka - still dominates Congress and commands fierce loyalty.

It is this potent lineage and legacy that Modi and his party seek to attack when they say dynastic politics has no role in a democracy, analysts say.

Even though Congress withered in 2019, winning less than 10% of the 545 seats in the lower house, it commanded nearly 20% of the vote - the largest for any opposition group - against the BJP's 38%.

Congress is the ruling party, or the main opposition in about half a dozen important states.

NON-SERIOUS POLITICIAN?

Gandhi entered politics and was first elected to parliament in 2004 from his family borough of Amethi in the northern heartland state of Uttar Pradesh.

He repeated that victory in 2009 and 2014 but suffered a shock setback in 2019 when he lost the seat. However, he had also contested a seat in the Kerala state and won there to return to parliament.

Gandhi's attendance in parliament has been far below the average. His frequent absences from the chamber, and the country, have been the focus of the media and drawn BJP accusations that he is a "non-serious" politician.

Outside parliament, he has often reminded his supporters of his family's commitment and sacrifices, talking about the assassinations of his grandmother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and his former prime minister father, Rajiv Gandhi.

Of late, he has been stirring controversy with criticism of the BJP.

In Britain last month he said in a speech that democracy was in danger under Modi, angering the BJP whose members demanded an apology or said he should face exclusion from the chamber.

On Thursday, after his conviction, he simply posted on Twitter some words in Hindi from freedom movement leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who is not a relation.

"My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it. - Mahatma Gandhi".

Single at 52, Gandhi is known to be a fitness and martial arts enthusiast and has been seen cycling in New Delhi accompanied by security men.

His conviction and disqualification from parliament is now "make or break" for him, said Neelanjan Sircar, a senior visiting fellow at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research.

"Will he be able to make the argument that 'I am being targeted by a government that does not necessarily represent the interest of all Indians', or is he going to be seen as somebody who is not a capable politician and therefore has been outplayed by the BJP," Sircar told Reuters. (Reuters)

Maritime issues between the Philippines and China remain a "serious concern", a Philippine official said on Friday, as the countries pledged to use diplomacy to resolve differences peacefully during high-level talks.

The Philippines hosted this week the first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the pandemic, amid a flare-up in tensions over what Manila described as China's "aggressive activities" in the South China Sea.

"Both our countries' leaders agreed that maritime issues should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation," Philippine foreign ministry undersecretary Theresa Lazaro said at the opening of bilateral talks on the South China Sea.

The two neighbours discussed their positions on an arbitral award, which invalidated China's claims over almost the entirety of the South China Sea, and various incidents at sea, the Philippines' foreign ministry said in a statement.

The discussions come two months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's state visit to China, where President Xi Jinping said he was ready to manage maritime issues "cordially" with Manila.

"Maritime issues are an important part of China-Philippines relations that should not be ignored," China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said.

"In the past years, through friendly dialogue and consultations, the two countries have generally managed and effectively dealt with our differences on maritime issues. And we have also advanced our practical cooperation and our mutual trust," added Sun, who is on a three-day visit to Manila.

Beijing, which claims large parts of the South China Sea, including some areas in Philippine waters, has expressed concern over an increasing U.S. military presence in its neighbour, accusing Washington of increasing regional tensions.

Last month, Marcos granted the United States expanded access to military bases, amid China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and towards self-ruled Taiwan.

The agreement has been seen as a sign of a rekindling of ties between Manila and its former colonial master, which soured under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Marcos, the son of the late strongman whom Washington helped flee into exile during a 1986 "people power" uprising, has repeatedly said he could not see a future for his country without the United States.

Last month, the Philippines accused China's coast guard of using a laser against one of its vessels supporting a resupply mission for troops in the disputed Spratly islands. Marcos later summoned the Chinese ambassador to relay his concern over the intensity and frequency of China's activities in the area.

Maritime differences with Beijing were a "serious concern" but could be resolved through the "exhaustion of all diplomatic means", starting with "restraint from aggressive acts", Lazaro said in a statement following the talks. (Reuters)

North Korea has tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, state media reported on Friday, as leader Kim Jong Un warned joint military drills by South Korea and the U.S. should stop.

During the test, the new North Korean drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 metres (260-500 feet) for over 59 hours and detonated a non-nuclear payload in waters off its east coast on Thursday, North Korean state news agency KCNA said.

Analysts say North Korea is showing off its increasingly diverse nuclear threats to Washington and Seoul, though they are sceptical whether the underwater vehicle is ready for deployment.

North Korea intends to signal "to the United States and South Korea that in a war, the potential vectors of nuclear weapons delivery that the allies would have to worry about and target would be vast," said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"There would be silos, railcars, submarines and road mobile missile launchers. And now they're adding this underwater torpedo to the mix," he said.

On Monday, the isolated country flew a short-range missile from a buried silo, a departure from usual basing methods.

Dubbed "Haeil", or tsunami, the new drone system is intended to make sneak attacks in enemy waters and destroy naval strike groups and major operational ports by creating a large radioactive wave through an underwater explosion, the KCNA said.

"This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," the news agency said, adding that Kim oversaw the test.

A South Korean military official said they were analysing North Korea's claims. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was no indication of a nuclear test.

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed miniaturised nuclear warheads needed to fit on its smaller weapons.

Analysts say perfecting such warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

HUGE TORPEDOES

A photo released by state media showed Kim smiling next to a large torpedo-shaped object, but did not identify it as the new drone. Other photos showed tracks of the object's underwater trajectory, and blasts visible on the sea surface.

Panda said the weapon's operational concept was similar to Russia's Poseidon nuclear torpedoes, a new category of retaliatory weapon meant to create destructive, radioactive blasts in coastal areas.

On Friday South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would make sure North Korea paid for its "reckless provocations", during a speech to commemorate service members who died in clashes with North Korea in western waters, including a 2010 sinking of a navy ship that South Korea said was struck by a North Korean torpedo.

North Korea also said it had fired cruise missiles on Wednesday to practice carrying out tactical nuclear attacks, confirming earlier reports from the South Korean military.

The cruise missiles were tipped with a "test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead," and flew 1,500-1,800 km (930-1,120 miles), according to KCNA.

The latest tests took place as South Korean and U.S. troops launched their largest amphibious landing drills in years, involving a U.S. amphibious assault ship, on Monday.

North Korea said military exercises by the United States and South Korea require its forces to "gird themselves for an all-out war and bolster up its nuclear force both in quality and quantity on a priority basis".

Pyongyang has long bristled at exercises conducted by South Korean and U.S. forces, saying they are preparation for an invasion of the North.

South Korea and the U.S. say the exercises are purely defensive and have criticised the North's tests as destabilising and in breach of U.N. sanctions.

The allies concluded 11 days of their regular springtime exercises, called Freedom Shield 23, on Thursday, but have other field training exercises continuing.

North Korean leader Kim expressed "his will to make the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime plunge into despair for their choice," KCNA said, adding that he warned the enemies that they should stop reckless anti-North Korea war drills.

The director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday North Korean leader Kim does not appear poised to carry out a nuclear test during U.S.-South Korea military exercises, but the United States is staying vigilant. (Reuters)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un does not appear poised to carry out a nuclear test during U.S.-South Korea military exercises, but the United States is staying vigilant, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday.

U.S. officials have warned for nearly a year that North Korea may resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, a move that would be seen as a serious provocation by the United States, South Korea and Japan.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other officials warned of that possibility in May 2022 ahead of President Joe Biden's trip to Asia.

"I have been waiting for that as well," Lieutenant General Scott Berrier told reporters at DIA headquarters. "There are a bunch of different factors that play into (Kim's) decision calculus on that. And there are a bunch of things that we watch in terms of indications and warning. Those two haven't aligned."

Berrier said Kim could have opted to time a nuclear test to coincide with the ongoing Freedom Shield drills by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. The 11-day exercise is set to conclude on Thursday.

"It doesn't look like he's going to do that," Berrier said. "But he will uncork that at a time and place of his choosing, which is something we'll be watching for very, very carefully."

'MUCH MORE DANGEROUS'

North Korea has long been banned from nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the Security Council, which has strengthened sanctions on Pyongyang over the years to cut off funding for those programs.

In recent years the 15-member body has been split on how to deal with North Korea. Although both Russia and China backed toughened sanctions after North Korea's last nuclear test, in May 2022 they vetoed a U.S.-led push to impose more U.N. sanctions over North Korea's renewed ballistic missile launches.

North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of such launches last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland.

That testing continues. North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, three days after firing a short-range ballistic missile into the sea.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday's launches could have involved strategic cruise missiles.

"Strategic" is typically used to describe weapons that have a nuclear capability. North Korea's last known firing of strategic cruise missiles was on March 12, when it said it fired two from a submarine.

Asked about the flurry of testing by North Korea, Berrier said he believed Kim was still not satisfied with his deterrent, despite the advances in his military programs in recent years.

"He continues to pursue greater accuracy and lethality with his with his missile force," Berrier said.

He noted that North Korea's conventional ground forces "have atrophied over time" as Kim has advanced his nuclear weapons and missile programs.

"But I think it is a much more dangerous North Korea than it has been in the past," Berrier said. (Reuters)